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Student suspended for sketching gun on assignment paper
Ray Parker
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 22, 2007 12:42 PM
Parents angered by the suspension of their child for drawing a picture of a gun on an assignment paper are questioning the Chandler Unified School District's policies dealing with such incidents.
The Payne Junior High eighth-grader, along with another student, was suspended Monday for five days. Parents Paula and Ben Mosteller were able to get the suspension reduced to three after meeting with school officials.
The uproar over the drawing, which the student turned in with a school assignment, cuts to the question of what constitutes a "threat."
Craig Gilbert, Chandler director of secondary education, said there's a range of punishment administrators can hand down for "implied threats," ranging from a parent conference to suspension and expulsion.
"(School administrators) would determine what the situation is and the consequence," Gilbert said.
Gilbert confirmed another student also was suspended in connection with the incident but would not go into detail because of student privacy laws.
Paula Mosteller told the Associated Press she could not believe her son received suspension for a drawing: "I just can't believe that there wasn't another way to resolve this."
Parents can appeal a suspension of 10 days or more to a district hearing officer, said district spokesman Terry Locke, but for anything less, the school principal has the final word.
Payne principal Karen Martin did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Ray Parker
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 22, 2007 12:42 PM
Parents angered by the suspension of their child for drawing a picture of a gun on an assignment paper are questioning the Chandler Unified School District's policies dealing with such incidents.
The Payne Junior High eighth-grader, along with another student, was suspended Monday for five days. Parents Paula and Ben Mosteller were able to get the suspension reduced to three after meeting with school officials.
The uproar over the drawing, which the student turned in with a school assignment, cuts to the question of what constitutes a "threat."
Craig Gilbert, Chandler director of secondary education, said there's a range of punishment administrators can hand down for "implied threats," ranging from a parent conference to suspension and expulsion.
"(School administrators) would determine what the situation is and the consequence," Gilbert said.
Gilbert confirmed another student also was suspended in connection with the incident but would not go into detail because of student privacy laws.
Paula Mosteller told the Associated Press she could not believe her son received suspension for a drawing: "I just can't believe that there wasn't another way to resolve this."
Parents can appeal a suspension of 10 days or more to a district hearing officer, said district spokesman Terry Locke, but for anything less, the school principal has the final word.
Payne principal Karen Martin did not return a phone call seeking comment.
